The POETRY OF Jose HIERRO

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Abstract

The poetry of Josff Hierro, one of the major poets to emerge in
Spain after the Civil War, 1 reflects the decreasing rigidity in the
boundaries between the novel and poetry. 2 This is especially evident
in the narrative style of much of the poetry of this epoch, often characterized by free verse, long, rambling lines and an anecdotal plot. One
also sees a preference for a first-person speaker who both observes and
participates in the world he describes. Frank K. Stanzel's counnents
about the manipulation of speaker and perspective with respect to the
novel are also helpful to the critic of post-Civil War poetry: "Presence of the author means that the narrator and the narrative process
take on a definite shape in the reader's imagination in addition to the
narrated events. In this case report-like·narration usually predominates
(R)eport-like narration is well suited to gradual change, development, and certain processes which only become truly meaningful when they
are illuminated by the imagination of the author or when explained and
interpreted by him. ,.3 The speaker in post-war poetry is often a kind of
novelistic character, based, of course, on the poet's nature and experience, but transformed so as to transcend the limitations of time and
individual personality.